RAND ROAD RAIL CROSSING REPAIR TO CAUSE DETOUR

The 22,200 motorists who rumble daily over the Chicago and North Western railway at Rand Road will be forced to take a detour when reconstruction of the crossing begins Friday.

The at-grade crossing, which carries 40 freight trains a day between Chicago and Milwaukee, will be closed at 6 p.m., according to state officials. The crossing is scheduled to reopen May 16 at 6 a.m., said Syed Ali, railroad engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation in Schaumburg.

The $108,800 construction project will replace the railbed and roadbed at the crossing, Ali said. "It's going to be a smooth ride once it's done."

Northwest-bound traffic on Rand Road will detour right onto River Road and then left onto Golf Road (Illinois Highway 58) to Rand again, Ali said.

Southeast-bound traffic on Rand Road will detour left onto Golf and then right onto River Road back to Rand, Ali said.